June 12/17 16:51 pm - New Canada Cup Series Leaders After Horseshoe

Posted by Editoress on 06/12/17
 

After a two week hiatus, the XCO Mountain Bike Canada Cup resumed on Sunday for Round 4 at Horseshoe Valley, north of Barrie, Ontario. The Norco Factory Team were the big winners on the day, taking both the Elite Women's and Men's victories. The men's and women's leader's jerseys changed hands in both the Junior and Elite categories. Hot and humid conditions took their toll on the riders, with a number of riders abandoning.

Haley Smith (Norco Factory Team), back from competing on the European World Cup circuit, dominated the Elite Women's race, riding away from the rest of the field on the first lap to win by 44 seconds over Cindy Montambault (Equipe du Quebec/Trek GPL). Soren Meeuwisse (Trek Canada) took third and was also the top Under-23 rider. Meeuwisse takes the lead in the standings with 565 points, followed by former leader Jayne Rossworn of British Columbia at 425 points (absent at Horseshoe) and Marine Lewis of Quebec at 415.


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The Elite Men's race saw five riders go to the front on the opening lap, but that was whittled down to two by the halfway mark - two time defending champion Peter Disera (Norco Factory Team) and national champion Derek Zandstra (Cannondale-3Rox). The two rode together until the final half lap when Disera attacked, opening a few seconds lead which he held to the finish line. Andrew L'Esperance (Forward Racing-Norco) and Quinton Disera (Norco Factory Team) sprinted for third, with L'Esperance beating Quinton Disera by a tire width. Quinton Disera moves into the leader's jersey with 590 points, followed by Round 2 winner Evan Guthrie (Independant) - who was absent from Horseshoe - at 495 points. Alexandre Vialle (Toyota St-Eustache) is third with 416 points.



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The Junior Expert Men's race saw a sweep of the podium by Ontario team Centurion Next Wave, led by Gunnar Holmgren. Holmgren was joined on the podium by team mates Brody Sanderson and Tyler Clark. Sanderson moves into the overall series lead with 283 points, followed by Holmgren at 245. Former leader Holden Jones (Cycling BC) drops to third with 230 points after skipping Horseshoe.

In the Junior Expert Women's race, the Quebec-based Mont-Sainte-Anne squad took the top two spots, led by Roxane Vermette. Vermette took the lead after the first lap and pulled away to win by over two and a half minutes on team mate Leya Masson, with Ruby West (Rise Racing) taking third. Dana Gilligan (Team Ontario/Maverix) moves into the Series lead with 260 points, followed by former leader Sidney McGill (Focus CX Canada) at 255. McGill was absent from Horseshoe. Masson moves up to third with 245 points.

The Canada Cup continues next weekend with Round 5 at Hardwood Ski & Bike.

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